Trinity Boothe killed: 12-year-old Lakeland girl dies in tree crash

12-year-old Florida girl killed when tree supporting a hammock fell on her

A 12-year-old Florida girl was killed when a tree supporting a hammock in her back yard fell on her, authorities said on Monday.

Trinity Boothe's father heard a thud shortly after she went outside on Sunday afternoon to read a book in the hammock at the family's home in Lakeland, about 30 miles northeast of Tampa, authorities said.

He went outside to find her lying on the ground, with the tree on top of her, said Polk County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Donna Wood.

"This is a horrible, horrible, freak, tragic accident," Wood said. "I cannot imagine a worse way to end your year."

Police and medics arrived within minutes, finding the father performing CPR on his daughter. Medics brought her to a hospital, where she was declared dead about an hour after the incident, Wood said.

Authorities discovered the tree, which had supported the hammock for 10 years, had termite damage. It was more than 10 feet tall and five feet in diameter at the base, Wood said.

"No one would have imagined that there would have been enough termite damage for this to happen," Wood said.